Go look at your child. No seriously, go look at them. Take a long, hard look. Now, in your mind, imagine your son or daughter holding an automatic weapon. Does that scene strike fear in the depths of your heart? Because no matter what your political ideals, personal values or religious beliefs, it should make you afraid. But unfortunately, America, it’s not. For example this little girl killed somebody with a machine gun.
You’re not teaching your kids to PROTECT themselves, you’re teaching them that in the right situation it’s OKAY to take another person’s life. You’re teaching your children that they can’t protect themselves with an education, with an open mind or be protected by law enforcement. You’re teaching them that the ONLY way to handle situations where they feel afraid, vulnerable or angry is to pick up a gun and shoot.
The worst part is, no matter what I write here, no matter how many KIDS, TEENAGERS and ADULTS in America, Canada and across the world are dying at the hands of children, you won’t see the light. You won’t see because you don’t want to see. You want to be right. You are clinging so desperately to your convictions that you’re pulling the next generation down with you and isn’t that a shame?
I understand, though. You’ve lost faith. It’s ironic that the nation that prides itself SO heavily on their ability to believe in God and his righteousness is the same nation that is now struggling so heavily with their ability to believe in themselves. You have a self-confidence problem, America, and you’re not going to solve that problem with gunfire.
Look at the Congo. Look at Israel and Palestine. Look at all of the places in our present world and in the history of the human race when we have strapped our kids and sent them off to fight. What were the results? Did those children find peace with firearms or did they burn fear and anxiety so deeply into their cores that many couldn’t even function anymore?
America, guns will NEVER protect you. They will never protect your children. Guns don’t fix things, they break them. They break bones, skin and hearts. Every time I hear about another shooting, accidental or otherwise, in the news it breaks mine a little. It makes me worry as I see this type of violence trickling into our society. The fact that I’m becoming more desensitized to the loss of life at the hands of children every single day.
Stop being part of a political agenda. Stop letting yourself be boxed into one particular set of ideals. Expand your mind and open your hearts. Give your kids a fighting chance and give it to them without a gun in their hands, please.
2 Comments
You make a great point about how our supposed faith and gun culture are at odds. Love the last paragraphs. Thank you for writing this.
I live in France and the gun culture is virtually non-existent. Even in a crazy big city, I feel safe walking alone at night because it’s extremely unikely anyone would have a gun. It’s one thing that makes me hesitant to move back to the US. The odds you’ll get shot in the US are still low, but are higher than they should be.